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Four Runs. Two Wins. Your 2009 San Francisco Giants!

By Grant Brisbee

Dang it. I like the series win, don’t get me wrong. I just wish it were done differently. The starting rotation just gave those people strength. Their argument was almost completely shot down. The first week of the season eviscerated it. After all of that hard work, those people are going to be louder than ever.

Hey, the Giants don’t need to score runs with this pitching staff. Every starter in the rotation can throw a shutout when they take the ball. So if the Giants could scratch out a run or two by playing small ball – you know, get runners over, swipe a bag, clutch hitting – they should be fine.

Oof. Just ooof. The Giants’ starting staff isn’t magic. It’s not like they’re going to throw 21 consecutive scoreless innings every series. This one time, though, they did. The Giants won a three-game series by only scoring four runs.

Well, yeah. I mean, everyone on that staff has a Cy Young except for Cain and Sanchez, and they should get some consideration this year. Pitching beats offense every time. EVERY TIME. Remember the Texas Rangers a few years ago? Couldn’t pitch, but they could hit. They didn’t even come close to the playoffs. Now that the steroid era is over mumble blah blah glurk snuffa small ball is more important mumpha blah blah fundamentals blah blah look at Japan in the World Baseball Classic! blah blah gggmmf.

Stop that. Who let you back in? I’ll answer your points, but I don’t have to like doing it. Defense is important. All things being equal, speed is nice. Fundamentals are nice. But a team winning a three-game series after only scoring four runs is as much of an accident as it is a sign of strong pitching.

It’s not an accident. Heck, if the bullpen didn’t blow the game for Lincecum, the Giants could have swept the series. With this pitching staff, they don’t need to score runs. Much more than one or two, anyway. With this starting rotation, they should win two out of every three games.

Aiiiiieeee! Stop it! Stop! What is this, blood? From my ears?

The first week of the season wasn’t indicative of how things should be going forward. Lincecum has his rhythm, Sanchez pitched better, and Randy Johnson was finally able to get over that middle-inning hump. If Cain can continue, and if Zito’s improved stuff translates into improved results, the Giants will be a fun team to watch.

Aaaarrrrgh! I can’t take any mo…wait, I agree with all that. This season was always about a watchable team – the starting rotation is 80% interesting, and there are young players in the lineup to watch, even if there are no guarantees that they’ll play well. The first ten games of the season featured a watchable team playing unwatchable baseball. So while they’re not going to win like this every time, it’s nice to know that the vast, sandy wastelands of offensive nothingness will occasionally be punctuated by short spurts of brilliant starting pitching. That’s all I was really expecting before the season started, but the first ten games were so miserable that I started to dread watching baseball.

The Giants aren’t going to win like this often. But they shouldn’t make me dread watching baseball. If anyone has a direct extension to someone in the Giants’ marketing department, please leave it in the comments section. Giants Baseball: You Shouldn’t Dread Watching Them Play. That one’s on the house, Giants PR folks. On the house.

 

 

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